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Four Ways Social Media Can Harm Your Injury Claim

In the age of social media, where users post photos of everything from children’s dance recitals to morning breakfast sausages, accident victims frequently use these online forums to share photos and news about their collision. Lawyers for insurance companies are increasingly asking Plaintiffs to produce this content in personal injury litigation. In this post, we explain four ways social media can be detrimental to personal injury claims.

1. “At Least Nobody Was Hurt”

In the moments after a collision, it is perfectly natural to do a quick assessment of everyone’s condition. While some injuries may be readily identifiable, many others can take time to manifest, including soft tissue damage, non-displaced fractures, and psychological symptoms. Attention can quickly shift to assessing and photographing the property damage, but when those images are posted online, they almost inevitably lead to discussions regarding the nature and magnitude of injuries. These statements can be problematic, particularly if the injuries later turn out to be more serious than originally thought.

2. A Private Investigator That Never Sleeps

Before social media, insurance companies would turn to private investigators to conduct surveillance on claimants, particularly if the adjuster had doubts about the extent of someone’s injuries or disabilities. That could involve many costly hours of an investigator’s time, with no guarantee the surveillance would even be fruitful. Today’s social media users can virtually eliminate the defence’s cost and risk of private surveillance, through posting content about their recreational activities, vacations, household projects or even workouts.